A Little Something Between Buddies/Script

(Opening shot; fade in to a sidewalk near a grass meadow on a sunny day. Kai-Lan, Rintoo, Tolee, and Hoho --- in their roller skating gear --- are skating down this path while laughing and having fun.)

[Kai-Lan] “Hang on tight, everyone!”

[All four] “Woah!”

(Laughter; they skate down the path leading to the roller rink. Kai-Lan gasps.)

[Kai-Lan] “Uh-oh! Wait! Stop!”

(Up ahead, there is Ulysses levitating berries off a bush and putting them in a basket nearby.)

[Rintoo] “Ulysses! Look out!”

(Too late; the four crashed into Ulysses and all five tumbled into a mud puddle. They stand up.)

[Hoho] “Oh no! We’re covered in mud!”

[Ulysses] “Ooooh...I hate filth.”

[Tolee] “We are sooo sorry, Ulysses.”

[Ulysses] (sighs) “That’s alright. I’ll just get myself cleaned up. Say, where are you all heading?”

[Kai-Lan] “We’re heading to the roller rink.”

[Hoho] “But it seems like we got into an accident.”

[Tolee] (angrily, eyeing Rintoo) “But we wouldn’t have gotten there in time if Rintoo didn’t push so hard.”

[Rintoo] (angrily, to Tolee) “Well, if you could only stop in time, none of us would be getting into an accident.”

[Tolee] “No way! You went way too fast!”

[Rintoo] “Did I, Tolee? Did I? And I thought you were the helpful one.”

[Tolee] “Says the tiger who didn’t learned how to roller skate a while ago!”

[Rintoo] “Hey! I now know how to skate!”

[Kai-Lan] “Stop it!”

[Hoho] “Aren’t we supposed to go to the roller rink?”

[Rintoo & Tolee] “The roller rink!”

(They both glare at each other and skate toward the rink. When they got there, they saw many people exit the rink.)

[Tolee] “Aiyah! It’s already over?”

(Kai-Lan and Hoho entered the scene. They watched in disappointment as the other skaters merrily skate off.)

[Lulu] “Sorry guys, but it’s going to close right now.”

(Now it’s just the four saddened skaters that remained on the scene.)

[Rintoo] “Great...we came all the way here for nothing.”

[Tolee] (to Rintoo, bitterly) “Well, that was your own fault we didn’t make it in time.”

[Rintoo] “Me?” (ditto) “You were the one that had to waste time ranting out about me pushing too hard!”

[Tolee] “No, that’s your fault!”

[Rintoo] “No, that’s your fault!”

[Kai-Lan] “Quit it! Both of you! Now why don’t we all just go to my house and enjoy the rest of the day there?”

[Rintoo, Tolee, Hoho] “Good idea, Kai-Lan!”

(And they roll off; cut to the backyard. Kai-Lan wheels out her wagon of toys and games.)

[Hoho] “So what can we play with, Kai-Lan?”

[Kai-Lan] “Hmmm...maybe one of you guys can think of something fun to do. I usually do that, so how about it?”

[Rintoo] “I know what we can do for fun. We can pull pranks on our friends...you know, just for fun.”

[Tolee] “I’m thinking of something better. Like, we can build a whole city out of sticks.”

[Rintoo] “No way! Pranks are way more fun than building stuff out of sticks.”

[Tolee] “I don’t feel like pulling pranks!”

[Rintoo] “Well, I do!”

[Kai-Lan] “Rintoo! Tolee! Please!”

[Hoho] “Why are you guys always fighting?”

[Rintoo, Tolee] “We’re not!”

[Hoho] “Then what are we doing for fun then?”

[Rintoo] “Pranks!”

[Tolee] “Building with sticks!”

(Rintoo and Tolee glare at each other and their arguing starts up again, leaving Kai-Lan to sigh and roll her eyes with annoyance. Fade in to the in living room in the animatronics’ tower.)

[Rintoo] “...It’s just that, I just want to do things my way, not Tolee’s!”

[Tolee] “And I want to do things my way, not Rintoo’s!”

[Rintoo] “Tolee wants to build a whole city made out of sticks, but I’d rather do pranks.”

[Tolee] “And I prefer building with sticks over pranks.”

[Rintoo] “See? We want to have fun our way!”

[Ulysses] “Now, Rintoo and Tolee. Both of you are right about people doing things they’re own way.”

(The tiger stifles a snicker on the end of this; now Felix reaches his seat and begins to sit down.)

[Felix] “And when---”

(He gets no farther before a flatulence sound effect cuts him off. It lasts for some seconds, making itself heard loud and clear in the sudden dead silence, and Rintoo gives voice to his merriment as it dies away. The phoenix picks up a whoopee cushion from beneath himself and tosses it to the side with visible irritation. All but Jack have the same reaction; the jackalope falls into a fit of giggles.)

[Rintoo] “Funny, right?” (Laughter.)

[Jack] “Yeah! A good one!”

[Felix] “...Anyway...as I was saying...When people learn to compromise, they can enjoy the fun even more.”

[Tolee] “But how can Rintoo and I do a little bit of what we do? It’s just physically impossible!”

[Spike] “It’s not impossible. Just try to get along.”

[Rintoo & Tolee] “Fine…”

(Both left the room, mumbling angrily to themselves. Dissolve to the exterior of Tolee’s home and zoom in slowly. It is another sunny day.)

[Tolee] (voice over) “I’m glad you all are here…”

(Cut to the koala inside.)

[Tolee] “...because today is another great day for a playdate.”

(Zoom out to frame the others, all wearing the same panda slippers.)

[Spike] “So what do we do first?”

[Tolee] “I have an idea. Let’s play charades!”

[Hoho] “Huh? How do you play?”

[Kai-Lan] (to Hoho) “The way the game is played is someone has to pretend to be someone or something and the others have to guess what it is. But...the person doing the pretending cannot make any sounds.”

[Tolee] “Of course we are.” (icily, to Rintoo) “But someone should go after me, after he pushed me aside!”

[Rintoo] “I wanted to go first!”

(The two argue again; the others slowly walked out of the house to leave the quarreling boys on their own. Kai-Lan sighs and facepalms. Wipe to Rintoo, Tolee, Spike, and Thorn at a candy store; they walk out. Rintoo holds a large bag of candy over his head.)

[Rintoo] “Yo, Tolee! Catch!”

(He throws it, then cut to Tolee as it sails toward him.)

[Tolee] “Rintoo! No!”

(The bag goes over his head and slams into a window. The one pushing it out is none other than the leader of the ChipChords --- Ardone.)

[Ardone] “That’s a lot of candy you guys have there.”

[Tolee] “Sorry about that, Ardone.”

[Ardone] “It’s cool, buddy.”

(Close-up of Tolee and Spike, the latter looking annoyed at the koala.)

(Pan right; now we see Rintoo and Thorn, the latter mirrors his brother’s expression.)

[Rintoo] “Well, if you could only catch---!”

(Pan back and forth as the cockatrice twins follow the argument while looking irritated.)

[Tolee] “You threw it too hard!”

[Rintoo] “No way! Maybe you just don’t know how to catch!”

[Tolee] “Of course I do!”

[Rintoo] “What, did you lose your confidence or something?”

[Tolee] “That doesn’t make any sense!”

[Rintoo] “I make total sense!” (Pan to Spike & Thorn)

[Spike] “Stop!”

[Thorn] “You argue too much!”

(The brothers walked away, leaving Tolee and Rintoo to start quarreling all over again. Cut to the interior of the animatronics’ tower at night. Ulysses sits on the couch with a book in his hooves/hands.)

[Ulysses] “Hopefully, it’ll be a nice and peaceful night for some reading.”

(But that peace and quiet had to be ruined when he heard a voice outside that startled him greatly.)

[Tolee] (from outside) “SHUT UP, RINTOO!!”

(Cappy approaches Ulysses.)

[Ulysses] “Can you believe them?”

[Cappy] “I know, right?”

(Outside, Rintoo and Tolee are arguing at top volume. No one is around to calm them down. Pan slowly to Kai-Lan’s home. In her room, Kai-Lan lies in her bed, trying to block out their yelling with her pillow.)

[Kai-Lan] “I don’t like arguing...Why can’t they just get along instead of fighting all the time?”

(The view dissolves to a point between several stuffed animals sitting on a shelf. Volcanian comes into view and adds another one at the end. Kai-Lan, Hoho, and the animatronics are standing here and waiting for him; the first two are in their pajamas. All are tired. They are in his home.)

(A still longer shot picks out the presence of the Peeking Mice, the ants, Rainbowbolt, and other animals in their pajamas. Not a single one of these visitors looked too pleased at the rash of all-night arguments.)

[San San] “We can’t sleep!”

[Bubu] “And that’s because of Rintoo and Tolee and their stupid arguing!”

[Fufu] “Are you’re honestly going to stand there and act like this is no big deal?”

[Kai-Lan] “I don’t think they will. And it doesn’t seem like Tolee and Rintoo are aware of who is affected by their constant quarreling.”

(Various sounds of agreement.)

[Thorn] “And that’s why we stopped by to tell you about it, so we could get them to...uh…” (with sudden rancor) “...GET ALONG!!”

(The red alicorn looks uncertainly past him, the camera cutting to his perspective and panning slowly across the assembled crowd. Cut back to him as he mulls it over and scratches the back of his head. Dissolve to a sunny day near Kai-Lan’s home; Rintoo and Tolee are still arguing up a storm. Volcanian walks by and creates a stomp strong enough to send both falling onto their bottoms.)

[Rintoo] “Huh? Volcanian?”

[Volcanian] “Tolee. Rintoo. I have something very important to tell you both.”

[Tolee] “Actually, I have something totally important to tell you.”

[Rintoo] “Me too.”

[Volcanian] “Well...what do you have to say?”

[Tolee] “Well…” (glaring at Rintoo) “...I think Rintoo needs to be taught a lesson for not listening to me!”

[Rintoo] (glaring at Tolee) “But I think Tolee should be taught a lesson for not listening to me!”

[Volcanian] “I’m confused. What exactly is this argument about?”

[Tolee] “Nothing really. I’m just mad at Rintoo!”

[Rintoo] “And I’m mad at Tolee!”

[Volcanian] “Well, then you two are wasting your time! Just what are you angry about, anyway?”

[Tolee] “I just want Rintoo to do what I want to do, but he wants me to have fun his way!”

[Rintoo] “And I want Tolee to do what I want to do, but he just wants me to have fun his way!”

[Rintoo] (from o.s.) “That’s great, because now I can yell at you whenever I want!”

[Tolee] (from o.s.) “I can do the same, except you’re nothing but a bag of smelly garbage!”

[Volcanian] “ENOUGH WITH THE TRASH TALK!!”

(Cut to Tolee and Rintoo, who looked at him with confusion. Cut to frame all three.)

[Volcanian] “Just-just…!”

(He lets go with a loud groan before flying away. Dissolve to him descending down in front of Kai-Lan. She is now in her normal clothes.)

[Volcanian] “I can’t do it…”

[Kai-Lan] (sigh) “I’m worried about Tolee and Rintoo. What if they go too far with their arguments?”

[Volcanian] “I’m sorry, but I guess they were trying to stop each other from starting an argument, but...it just had to happen. And by calling each other ‘pieces of junk’...”

(Cappy walks into the scene, looking annoyed.)

[Cappy] “...We should let them know that they just need to let some things go!”

[Volcanian] “And yes, it has been going on for a while now. And…”

(Hoho hops in, mirroring Cappy’s mood.)

[Hoho] “...We should show them how much trouble they’re causing to others.”

[Volcanian] “...Uh...none of us...like to see them like this, and…”

(The other animatronics walked in.)

[All but Cappy] “...We should show them their wrongdoings.”

(Stompy, Lulu, and Rainbowbolt gather into the scene, their annoyed eyes on Volcanian. The alicorn tries to think of something.)

[Lulu] “...For every mean thing Rintoo and Tolee do to each other is not helping at all with our friendship.”

[Manny] “...We think Rintoo and Tolee are have been rather mean to each other lately.”

[Thorn] “It’s really getting on our nerves!”

[Spike] “So I suggest we should play a trick on them.”

[Thorn] “Show them they’re trying to break us up on purpose!”

[Volcanian] “You mean...we should be nasty to them for a reason?!”

[Jack] “Duh!”

[Volcanian] “I can’t do this! No! There has to be another way!”

(With that, he flew off. Cut to a montage of Rintoo and Tolee yelling at each other while in various places; candy store, beach, Tolee’s home, Rintoo’s home, Kai-Lan’s home, animatronics’ tower, near ants’ bush, near a lake, playground, near a bus stop, and ontop of a tree. All of this took place during the day. Dissolve to Rintoo screaming and pointing at a spider. Tolee runs over to him.)

(They start yelling at each other. Pan away and toward Hoho, who has his arms crossed in irritation by their arguments. His hands go to his ears.)

[Hoho] (groans) “Can’t they go one day without yelling at each other?”

(Cut to the afternoon in the same spot; Tolee sits down with his back toward Rintoo; the latter sits near a tree. Just then, Hoho hops by holding two tickets. He first goes to Rintoo.)

[Hoho] “Rintoo, you’ve got a free ticket to a party in a castle.”

[Rintoo] “Awesome! A party!”

(Then Hoho hops over to Tolee and gives him the other ticket.)

[Hoho] “Tolee, you’ve got a free ticket to a party in a castle.”

[Tolee] “Cool. I’ll be there.”

(With that, Hoho hops away. Tolee looks at the ticket, then glares up at the sky.)

[Tolee] “Surely, I don’t want to bump into a certain tiger…”

[Rintoo] (turning to face Tolee) “Oh, look. He speaks.” (walks up to Tolee) “Well, if you don’t want to see me there, then I don’t want to see you there either!”

[Tolee] (standing) “Why are you always trying to start an argument with me? You make a big deal over nothing!”

[Rintoo] “Oh look, he’s more than a know-it-all.”

[Tolee] “What have I done to you? It’s like everytime I mess up, you have to blame it on me.”

[Rintoo] “Oh yeah. And let’s not forget that one time where I called Pandy...a piece of junk!”

[Tolee] (pointing a finger to Rintoo) “Don’t you ever say that about Pandy!”

[Rintoo] “He’s a toy!”

[Tolee] “He’s more than a toy, stupid.”

(Tolee rushing Rintoo, and the two go down in a rolling pile that tumbles down a dirt path into a forest. Cut to ground level; Rintoo’s face falls into the picture. He begins to scream in pain and flail his arms. Tolee is sitting on his back.)

[Tolee] “I don’t want to fight with you anymore! You’ve been nothing but a bully!”

[Rintoo] (growls, crosses arms) “Yeah, because you know I can hurt you badly.”

(Tolee turns around, looking back angrily. Rintoo does the same. Cut back to Tolee; he looks at the invitation with wonder and confusion.)

[Tolee] “The invitation says there’s supposed to be a party here.”

[Rintoo] “We’re not at a castle. We’re in a forest!”

[Tolee] “What is going on?”

(Behind him, a shadowy figure of a small monkey --- perhaps Hoho --- whips by through the trees. Tolee looks behind him.)

[Tolee] “Why would we be coming to a place like this?”

[Rintoo] “Where’s the party? Where is the castle?”

[Tolee] “Maybe it’s down this path.”

(The two start to walk down the path. Dissolve to a while later; it is nighttime. The pair arrived at a village in the middle of the forest.)

[Rintoo] “Where are we?”

[Tolee] “Do I look like I know?”

[Rintoo] “Don’t start with me, Tolee.”

(Both noticed a differently-shaped shadow moving inside in one small house. They tiptoed inside and saw a pale-colored Stompy hunched down over a box, his face turned away from them.)

[Tolee] “Stompy? What are you doing in a place like this? You know there’s a party going on, right?”

(He does not respond back.)

[Rintoo] “The invitation said that there’s a party in a castle. Could the castle be somewhere in this forest?”

(Both take a step closer. The sound of metallic breathing, combined with his broken propeller beanie still sitting on his head, causes the pair to recoil a bit.)

[Rintoo] “Uh...Stompy?”

(A tap on the elephant’s back and he immediately turns around. When he did, there is black/gray around his eyes and runs down his cheeks as if they were tears. There are bolts stuck to both sides of his head. His voice has a monotone, robot-like quality to it, with a bit of an echo.)

Note: All lines marked with this (~) are delivered in this tone.

~ [Stompy] “PARTY. PARTY.”

(Back to Tolee and Rintoo; both start to back away. They start to run when they met another figure standing outside the house. There is Hoho in the same condition as Stompy.)

~ [Hoho] “PARTY.”

(Rintoo and Tolee went for an open window and climbed out of there. Hoho and Stompy walk mechanically toward them.)

~ [Hoho, Stompy] “PARTY…”

(Cut to Tolee and Rintoo running through the village. They turn into a street but come up short with a gasp upon finding Jack, Ulysses, and Manny coming their way; all look in their withered and broken forms.)

~ [Jack, Manny, Ulysses] “PARTY…”

(The pair screamed and turned another way. They make a beeline toward another house and inside, they see Felix, Cappy, and Lulu sitting/standing with their backs to the camera. The former is holding a balloon.)

[Rintoo] “Felix! Cappy! Lulu!”

[Tolee] “Something’s going on with Stompy and Hoho! I mean, what is going on?”

(The trio lift their heads slowly and pivot to stare at them. Lulu is in the same state as Hoho and Stompy; Felix and Cappy are also withered and broken.)

~ [Cappy, Felix, Lulu] “PARTY.”

(Rintoo and Tolee screamed and took off. Cut to another house; the pair notice Kunekune, Oggy, Spike, Thorn with their backs turned away from the camera.)

[Rintoo] “Guys?”

(The four animatronics swivel toward them, confirming that they too appeared damaged.)

~ [Kunekune, Spike, Thorn, Oggy] “PARTY.”

(The pair screamed again and made a mad dash out of the house. At every house they passed, more robot-like figures would peek out through the open doors.)

~ [Mr. Fluffy, Mei Mei] “PARTY.”

~ [Ants] “PARTY.”

~ [Rainbowbolt, Volcanian] “PARTY.”

(Cut to a large tent in the forest. Kai-Lan and Yeye are out here along with Kai-Lan’s wagon of toys and goodies. Both are in their pjs.)

(Too late; Yeye walked out of the tent. Suddenly, the lamp nearby went out.)

[Tolee] “What’s going on?!”

[Rintoo] “We should just wait for Yeye!”

[Kai-Lan] “I should go out there and check if he’s okay!”

(She too leaves the tent, now Rintoo and Tolee remain inside. Just then, they heard a scream. Tolee and Rintoo run out to investigate. Kai-Lan stands and looking ahead in shock. She saw the mob of ‘robots’.)

[Kai-Lan] “Robots! Ruuuuun!!”

(She, Tolee, and Rintoo run off toward a wooden bridge. When Kai-Lan tries to get across, she stumbles a bit and is now dangling from a rope. Below her is a fast-moving river.)

[Rintoo, Tolee] “KAI-LAN!!!”

(From a distance behind them, they could see the mob coming. Rintoo gets on the rope and carefully walks over to Kai-Lan and takes her hand, only for him to be dangling with her. Tolee pulls on the other end.)

(After seconds of mulling this over, Tolee pulls on the rope. Rintoo and Kai-Lan are pulled to safety and the three come together for a group hug. A shadow looms over them.)

[Jack] (from o.s., happily) “Yay! They made up!”

(The trio turned around and the camera cuts to their perspective of the mob. All have returned to their original forms/colorations, but the black around their eyes are swiftly wiped off, revealed to be face paint.)

[Rintoo, Tolee] (standing up) “WHAT?!”

[Rintoo] “So you guys are not...crazed robots? None of you are?!”

[Jack] “No way, sillies!”

[Tolee] “This...this...this was all...a...a joke?!”

[Rainbowbolt] “Yep, and you can thank Volcanian. After you guys have been doing nothing but arguing and yelling at each other, he got all of our friends together and came up with a way to get you two back together.”

[Rintoo] “Well, I...I think that’s just dumb!”

[Tolee] “Yeah! Don’t you guys get it?”

[Kai-Lan] “It’s not dumb. We really are upset that you guys can’t stop arguing. YAou can’t just keep it up. That’s how you ruin a friendship. If you guys can’t learn to get along and learn to accept each other’s differences, then no one is having fun. And I don’t think you guys are even aware of who is affected by your arguments, but it looks like we are all affected by it.”

[Rintoo] “Well...I think you’re right.”

[Tolee] “Yeah. We’re sorry, everyone.”

[Rintoo] “Tolee and I have been arguing so much that we really didn’t understand how it affects our friends.”

[Yeye] “Well, I hope you two learned your lesson.”

[Rintoo] (to Tolee) “Tolee, can you ever forgive me?”

[Tolee] (to Rintoo) “Yeah. I forgive you.”

[Rintoo] “And I forgive you two.”

(Both come together for a hug. Shortly, everyone joined in and laughed as the camera pans away from them.)